The name is Dakota
Mní iá Tháŋka means "big water." Governor Alexander Ramsey made Minnetonka the official name in 1852.
Minnesota
Lake Minnetonka
44.9333° N, 93.5667° W · 14,528 acres
Made for the people who live, boat and summer on Lake Minnetonka.
The collection
The Lake Minnetonka collection
Best sellers
More designs
Shoreline Map Tee
Lake Minnetonka edition
$29
Woodcut Loon Tee
Lake Minnetonka edition
$29
Greetings from Postcard Tee
Lake Minnetonka edition
$29
Dock Time Tee
Lake Minnetonka edition
$29
Tackle & Bait Tee
Lake Minnetonka edition
$29
Ski Club Tee
Lake Minnetonka edition
$29
Lake Life Badges Tee
Lake Minnetonka edition
$29
Know Lake Minnetonka
Upper Lake or Lower Lake, everyone out here has a bay they call home. From ice-out in April to golf on the ice in February, Minnetonka keeps its own calendar.
Did you know
Dozens of bays, one lake
About 125 miles of shoreline, 18 islands and 14 towns on the shore. The deepest spot is 113 feet, in Crystal Bay.
Streetcar boats
In 1906, yellow steamboats built to look like streetcars carried folks between the lake towns. The Minnehaha was raised from the bottom in 1980 and sailed again.
Presidents on the porch
Chester Arthur and Ulysses Grant stayed at the Hotel Lafayette in 1883. The Lafayette Club stands on the grounds today.
An apple from Tonka Bay
The Wealthy apple, bred to survive Minnesota winters, was developed by Peter Gideon in what's now Tonka Bay.
Ice-out, tracked since 1855
The lake is called clear when a boat can cross without hitting ice. The median date is April 14; the earliest was March 11, 1878.
Local favorites
- Excelsior and The Commons — The lake's first settlement, with a waterfront park you can dock at.
- Wayzata Bay — Lakefront downtown and early-morning weekend regattas.
- Big Island and Cruiser's Cove — Summer weekends mean hundreds of boats rafted up.
- Lord Fletcher's — Through the Narrows Channel to Spring Park, around since 1968.
- Cooks Bay — Mound's side of the lake, and the best seat for Spirit of the Lakes fireworks.
- Hull's Narrows — Dug in 1853, the first boat passage between the Upper and Lower lakes.
The lake year
- February
- The Chilly Open: golf on the ice of Wayzata Bay, with tennis balls and hockey sticks
- April
- Ice-out watch
- June
- Art on the Lake in Excelsior
- July 4
- Excelsior's Firecracker Race and kids' parade
- Mid-July
- Spirit of the Lakes fireworks over Cooks Bay
- September
- Apple Day in Excelsior and James J. Hill Days in Wayzata
Know something we missed? Tell us.
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Your lake. Your look.
Lake Minnetonka isn't just a lake. It's your place.
It's first-light coffee on the dock and the long way home by boat. We make soft, well-worn pieces so you can carry it with you all year.